Bottle Cap

ABSTRACT

A bottle includes a reservoir including protrusions on a neck, each protrusion having a horizontal latch, an inclined surface on a bottom of the latch, and a recess between the inclined surface and the protrusion; a cap including an inner top wall, an internal annular wall, and projections on an inner surface of the annular wall; and a disc shaped sealing member including a raised edge and flexible elements on a top. The sealing member is in the cap to engage the open ends of the flexible elements with the top wall and rest the raised edge on the engagement surfaces of the projections. In response to rotating the cap on the neck, the projections ride along the inclined surfaces to be locked in the recesses, the open ends of the flexible elements urge against the top wall, and the sealing member is airtightly disposed on the neck.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to bottle caps and more particularly to a bottle cap including an internal sealing member having flexible element for maintaining airtightness of the bottle by urging against an inner top wall of the cap when the bottle neck is closed off by the cap

2. Description of Related Art

Food, pickled food, or the like can be stored in a bottle for preservation or lifespan expansion purposes. A conventional bottle is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 for achieving above purposes. A cap 90 includes a disc shaped membrane 92 disposed on an inner surface facing a neck of a reservoir 91 of a bottle. The cap 90 can be closed off the neck by threading. Food stored in a space 93 of the reservoir 91 is thus separated from the external due to the airtight engagement of the membrane 92 onto the mouth of the neck.

However, after a period time of use, the airtight sealing achieved by the membrane 92 may be compromised due to elastic fatigue of the membrane 92. Thus, external air may penetrate into the reservoir 91. Further, the threaded neck may further deform the membrane 92. Thus, the need for improvement still exists.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore one object of the invention to provide a bottle comprising a reservoir including a neck and a plurality of protrusions on an outer surface of the neck, each protrusion having a horizontally projecting latch, an inclined surface formed on a bottom of an end of the latch, and a recess formed between the inclined surface and the protrusion; a cap including an inner top wall, an internal annular wall, and a plurality of projections formed on an inner surface of the annular wall, each projection being parallelepiped and having an engagement surface on a top, the engagement surfaces being flush; and a disc shaped sealing member including an annular raised edge, and a plurality of flexible elements formed on a top, each flexible element being upward inclined toward a center and having an open end wherein the sealing member is disposed in the cap to engage the open ends of the flexible elements with the top wall and rest the raised edge on the engagement surfaces of the projections; wherein in response to putting the cap on the neck and clockwise rotating the cap, the projections ride along the inclined surfaces to be locked in the recesses, the open ends of the flexible elements urge against the top wall, and the sealing member is airtightly disposed on the neck.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a bottle according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the sealing member;

FIG. 2A is a sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 2;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the bottle with the cap disengaged from the neck;

FIG. 4 is longitudinal sectional view of the bottle with the cap being rotated to close off the neck;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 showing the neck being closed off by the cap;

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional bottle with the cap disengaged from the neck; and

FIG. 7 is longitudinal sectional view of the conventional bottle with the cap closed off the neck.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF-THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 5, a bottle in accordance with the invention comprises the following components as discussed in detail below.

A reservoir 10 includes an internal space, a neck 11, a plurality of equally spaced protrusions 12 on an outer surface of the neck 11, each protrusion 12 having a horizontally projecting latch 14, an inclined surface 13 on a bottom of the head of the latch 14, and a recess 15 between the inclined surface 13 and the protrusion 12.

A cap 20 includes an inner top wall 23, an internal annular wall 24, and a plurality of projections 21 equally spaced on an inner surface of the annular wall 24, each projection 21 being parallelepiped and having an engagement surface 22 on a top, the engagement surfaces 22 being flush.

A disc shaped sealing member 30 includes an annular raised edge 31 and a plurality of equally spaced flexible elements 32 on a top, each flexible element 32 being upward inclined toward a center and having an open end 33. The sealing member 30 is disposed in the cap 20 to engage the open ends 33 with the top wall 23 and rest the raised edge 31 on the engagement surfaces 22 of the projections 21.

In a closing operation, an individual may put the cap 20 on the neck 11 and clockwise rotate the cap 20 to ride the projections 21 along the inclined surfaces 13 until the projections 21 enter the recesses 15 to be locked. Also, the open ends 33 urge against the top wall 23 and the sealing member 30 is tightly disposed on the neck 11. As a result, the reservoir 10 is kept airtight.

In an opening operation, the individual may counterclockwise rotate the cap 20 and the projections 21 ride along the inclined surfaces 13 to leave the recesses 15. As a result, the projections 21 are not locked by the latches 14 and the cap 20 is free. Further, the flexible elements 32 are returned to their original shapes when the sealing member 30 is disposed in the cap 20.

The underside of the sealing member 30 is shaped to be capable of seating on the neck 11. The projections 21 can be spherical or multisided in other embodiments.

It is envisaged by the invention that the airtightness of the reservoir 10 can be maintained when the cap 20 closes off the neck 11. Food, pickled food, or the like can be stored in the reservoir 10 for preservation or lifespan expansion purpose. Further, it is durable.

While the invention has been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modifications within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A bottle comprising: a reservoir including a neck and a plurality of protrusions formed on an outer surface of the neck, each protrusion having a horizontally projecting latch, an inclined surface formed on a bottom of an end of the latch, and a recess formed between the inclined surface and the protrusion; a cap including an inner top wall, an internal annular wall, and a plurality of projections formed on an inner surface of the annular wall, each projection being parallelepiped and having an engagement surface on a top, the engagement surfaces being flush; and a disc shaped sealing member including an annular raised edge, and a plurality of flexible elements formed on a top, each flexible element being upward inclined toward a center and having an open end wherein the sealing member is disposed in the cap to engage the open ends of the flexible elements with the top wall and rest the raised edge on the engagement surfaces of the projections; wherein in response to putting the cap on the neck and clockwise rotating the cap, the projections ride along the inclined surfaces to be locked in the recesses, the open ends of the flexible elements urge against the top wall, and the sealing member is airtightly disposed on the neck.
 2. The bottle of claim 1, wherein underside of the sealing member is shaped to be capable of seating on the neck.
 3. The bottle of claim 1, wherein the projections are either spherical or multisided. 